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Follow UsAnother year, and yet another year where the associates can be proud of. There were plenty of team and individual performances that stood out in the last 365 days. Let's take a look at some of them:
Who shone the brightest?
Nepal's rise
Nepal cricket soared to great heights in 2024. First, they played in their first T20 World Cup in a decade. While they were not expected to cause much trouble, they were within touching distance from beating South Africa and Bangladesh.
Chasing 116 against South Africa in St. Vincent, Nepal fell agonizingly short by one run. In the next game against Bangladesh, they were chasing just 106, but with 21 needed off the last two, they lost three wickets in the next seven deliveries to end the campaign without a win.
However, that was only the start. Six months later, an inaugural edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) was launched, featuring eight teams and plenty of overseas players, including Ravi Bopara, James Neesham, and Scott Kuggeleijn, among others. This has further put Nepal on the international map.
Uganda announce themselves
The Ugandan cricket team beat Zimbabwe to qualify for their first-ever T20 World Cup in 2024. While they may have been distant second-best in most of the matches, they registered their maiden win in the tournament, beating Papua New Guinea (PNG) by three wickets.
That will certainly make them hungrier to Qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026, which will certainly be their priority. They are also quietly taking giant strides as far as their 2027 50-over World Cup qualification is concerned.
They won four of their five matches (one washed out) in ICC CWC Challenge League B 2024-26, which puts them one step closer to the marquee event.
USA! USA! USA!
The USA perhaps had the best year from an associate nation. They beat Bangladesh 2-1 ahead of the T20 World Cup. At the mega event, which they co-hosted, though, they created quite a ripple.
They beat Pakistan in a Super Over, which not only knocked the 2009 champions out, but the USA also progressed to the Super 8s.
With their qualification to the Super 8s, they have also booked their place for the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. Moreover, their T20 league, the Major League Cricket (MLC), has also attracted plenty of star players and coaches. Safe to say, the USA story is just about getting started.
Scotland Women script history
Scotland Women, led by Kathryn Bryce, made it to their first-ever T20 World Cup. They had to do it the hard way as they had to play a qualifier in Abu Dhabi. They finished among the top two teams to book their place in the mega event.
At the T20 World Cup in the UAE, though, they did not have the best of outings, as they lost all four matches, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.
That's not all. Kathryn played in the Women's Premier League (WPL) earlier this year, playing eight matches for Gujarat Giants. Her sister Sarah, too, will feature in the upcoming edition after Delhi Capitals snapped her up for INR 10 lakh.
Return of the Sixes...at last!
The Hong Kong Sixes mesmerised the world with extravagant strokeplay in the 90s and 2000s before it came to a screeching halt in 2017. It was T20 cricket well before the idea of T20 was even thought of.
The tournament resumed after a seven-year gap, with as many as 12 teams, including India and defending champions South Africa, participating in it. While Sri Lanka eventually walked away with their maiden title, the real winner is well and truly Hong Kong cricket, who have revived the tournament, which initially put the city on the map.
Can they cash in on this?
Spain beat India, Afghanistan's record
The Spanish men's team made history by breaking the record for the most consecutive T20I wins in a row. The streak started with an eight-wicket victory against the Isle of Man in Cartagena in February 2023, and since then, they have gone on to win 14 more games, the latest being against Finland in Castel in August 2024. They have currently won 15 matches in a row, and no team has won more than 13 games continuously.
They have beaten the record previously set by India and Afghanistan along the way.
Individual brilliance
> Kushal Malla had the fastest T20I century before it was broken in 2024. First, it was Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton who got to the landmark against Nepal in Kirtipur in February. He eventually finished with 101 off 36 with as many as 11 fours and eight sixes punctuating his innings.
If you thought that could not be beaten. Think again. Four months later, in a small village of Episkopi in Cyprus, Estonia's Sahil Chauhan broke the record again as he got to a hundred off just 27 deliveries. Chauhan hit 18 sixes and struck at a strike rate of 351.21 to make a mockery of the 192-run target.
> Moving on to Women's cricket now, UAE's Esha Oza has registered the third most runs in a calendar year in Women's T20Is. The UAE skipper slammed 711 runs in 20 innings this year. Moreover, she also became only the second women's cricketer to hit three centuries in the format, getting there with an unbeaten 114 against Oman in February.
> The bowlers, too, had a good year as Indonesia's Rohmaila Rohmalia snapped up the best-ever bowling figures in Women's T20Is. Her figures of 7/0 in 3.2 overs are also the best-ever bowling figures on debut. Rwanda pacer Henriette Ishimwe also scripted history as her 50 wickets in 2024 saw her become the highest wicket-taker in a single calendar year.
In fact, the top three wicket-takers in 2024 are Rwandan cricketers, with Marie Bimenyimana (43) and Rosine Irera occupying the second and third spots, respectively.
